About

Hi there!

First and foremost, I want to congratulate you on taking the first steps in the counseling process. I know the thought of talking to a stranger about yourself can be anxiety inducing, however I do know that setting aside the space to process through whatever is going on is essential in the healing process.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kristen and I have been a counselor since 2017. Over my few short years of counseling, I have found myself in a wide array of counseling experiences. I started out as an intern at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in early 2017. There I learned not only the basics of counseling children and families, but I was also able to be a part of the latest trainings related to the counseling world. One area that I particularly enjoyed while at Children's was being able to offer support and guidance to parents who were struggling with their children's behaviors. After my time at Children's, I accepted a job in Madison, WI working on an adult crisis unit. While there, I provided short term interventions to individuals experiencing various symptoms and diagnoses. Many of the common diagnoses I worked with were schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and substance use and abuse disorders. I was able to work in the short term with these individuals to make a plan to keep them safe when returning to the community as well as help them acquire necessary community connections to promote wellness after they left our unit. At the end of 2019, I transitioned out of the crisis unit and began work in private practice in Platteville, WI. I continue to work in private practice to this day, and provide individual counseling sessions to school aged children and families in the rural communities surrounding Platteville.

I tend to take a Cognitive Behavioral approach to counseling where I try to focus more on the areas of your life that you can change (like your thoughts and behaviors) in order to promote inner peace and better coping with adverse events. From my time on the crisis unit, I have also picked up a tendency to dive into Solution-Focused Therapy. I have found that if there is a basic need that is not being met, it is really difficult to work to lessening symptoms or changing maladaptive thought patterns.

It's also important to note that I tend to take more of a team approach to counseling. I have found that although I am the expert in mental health, you are the expert in your life. It is my hope that we can work together to find ways to cope better with whatever is going on in your life.

I look forward to meeting you soon.

Take care!

Kristen